State Editions

‘Connect AYUSH with Health Policy’

Advisor to the Governor K Vijay Kumar stressed on connecting the State Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) department with the National Health Policy 2002 on Saturday.

Highlighting on this connection along with AYUSH service rule, Principal Secretary Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare K Vidya Sagar informed that 48 Community Health Centres and 97 Primary Health Centres have been located across the state so as to bring AYUSH in the mainstream.

“According to the Project Implementation Plans 2013-14 telemedicine through Ayurveda would be provided at five hospitals in Jharkhand,’ said K Vidya Sagar.

The State health department is working on issues passed during the last Cabinet meeting concerning AYUSH. It has sanctioned the required posts of teachers and para-medical staffs at the Government Homoeopathy College in Godda as per the norms of Central Council of Homoeopathy. This college has been carrying out its academic courses with acute staff crunch since a long time. AYUSH was managing this shortage by deploying its doctors as visiting faculties.

Besides earlier sanctioned 38 posts, 141 posts have been approved at Chaibasa based Government Ayurveda College in accordance with the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM). The staff response of this traditional medicine institution is also poor.

Out of the Total Health Budget, AYUSH has only two percent preference. “This minute percentage is one of the main reasons for the decline of AYUSH,” said Dr Rabindra Rai, AYUSH Nodal Officer.

Newly framed states of the nation show lack of development in their AYUSH Directorates. Former Executive Member of CCIM Dr Yuvraj Kumar Tyagi told The Pioneer, “There is a great need for infrastructural development in states like Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Uttrakhand. The state government should provide more facilities to AYUSH which is still in high demand in rural parts of India for solving old age diseases.” Adding further Dr Tyagi said, “The contribution of National Rural Health Mission with AYUSH is worth noting.”

Pharmaceutical companies in metropolitan cities are trying to prepare medicines from herb extracts which would have global acceptance. Dr Srikant Gaur from Haryana who is working on such kind of medicine said, “The standardized method of this Ayurveda medicine processing is presently at an initial phase. It is a new concept for India.”